December 29 - Based on provisional figures, by the end of this year the port of Antwerp expects to have handled 178 million tonnes of freight, up 13 percent from the recession year of 2009 with the increase mainly due to container freight, which has once
Whilst liquid bulk also set an all-time record this year, the perfomance of conventional/breakbulk cargoes - although better than in 2009 - still remains below the 2008 level, although Antwerp remains the leading breakbulk port in Europe, albeit under increasing pressure lately.
Conventional/breakbulk tonnages increased by 6.3 percent to 11.1 million tonnes, but remain far below the level in 2008 (down 34.4 percent).
The number of seagoing ships calling at Antwerp has risen once more: in 2010 there were 14,750 calls, an increase of 6.0 percent.
